


from the bottom

by knoxoursavior



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, High School, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 04:13:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4333458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knoxoursavior/pseuds/knoxoursavior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac Lahey goes from an abused teenager to a happy one in one fell swoop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	from the bottom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [foxelot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxelot/gifts).



> it's my first time writing these characters and yeah i really enjoyed writing them so i hope you like this! ✿

Isaac wants to get up from his chair and leave. He wants to hide, wants to avoid this mess entirely. He’s known for a while now that this is how he meets his soulmate. When he found out the day that classes start this year, he knew. He’s memorized the exact date and time of this moment ever since he learned addition properly in third grade.

The problem is he’s in a classroom full of stupid high school kids and he really doesn’t know how he’s going to figure out who his soulmate is if he’s too anxious to even introduce himself to anyone.

Except it turns out he doesn’t have to.

“Okay, whose timer just went out?”

It’s a kid standing on top of the teacher’s table, wearing a baggy jacket and a huge backpack. There’s another one, a friend maybe, who’s pulling lightly at the kid’s pants, trying to convince them to _get down, oh my god Scott we’re here to make friends._

Scott, Isaac thinks, is a very nice name.

“Come on, it has to be one of you,” Scott says, crossing his arms and ignoring his friend.

Isaac gathers his courage, pulls at the sleeve of his cardigan, tells himself it’ll be okay. Scott is his soulmate. Everything’s going to be _fine_.

“I think it might be me?” Isaac says, standing up. All he has to do is pull up his sleeve and Scott’s already bounding to his side. _00:00:00_ , just as it has been for a thirty six seconds now.

“What’s your name?” Scott asks, and he has this blinding smile on his face that leaves Isaac breathless, heart pounding loudly in his ears.

“Isaac,” he replies, with no small effort.

“I’m Scott.” Then, Scott raises his hands and leans in, probably for a hug, but all Isaac can see is a clenched fist and blood red on the corners of his vision, and so he flinches.

Scott takes it in stride and pulls away immediately. His smile is replaced by a worried frown, but he doesn’t say anything about it.

“Hey,” he says instead. “Can I sit next to you?”

Isaac tries for a smile. He isn’t sure if he succeeds but Scott lightens up, and that’s enough for him.

“Of course you can.”

 

 

It takes a while for Isaac to feel comfortable with Scott. He constantly feels guilty, or scared that Scott might get tired of waiting, but Scott is—he’s _amazing_.

He finds out about Isaac’s dad early on, and it’s the first time that Isaac’s seen him angry or even remotely violent.

Stiles, Scott’s bestfriend, is the son of the sheriff, who happens to have connections in the Court. It isn’t that hard for them to get Isaac out of his house, or to get a restraining order against his dad.

So Isaac moves in with the McCalls and life starts to get a little easier every day.

 

 

Throughout the rest of high school, his group of friends grows bigger. It’s only him, Scott and Stiles at first, but then they’re joined by Allison and Lydia. Then, Erica and Boyd, and then, Kira and Malia.

Isaac _fits_ here. He loves Scott and he loves being with Scott, but he doesn’t need them to be constantly together either.

Stiles is definitely the one he plays games with. That’s how their relationship is, all trash-talking and sarcastic remarks, and it does wonders for Isaac when he needs a push back into reality after hiding himself in a shell, because while it’s nice to cuddle with Scott and be spoiled while he finds a way to piece himself back together again, Stiles is almost like a splash of water to startle him from sleep.

Isaac goes shopping with Lydia because she keeps complaining about how he seems to have nothing but long-sleeved shirts and cardigans. He also studies with her because honestly, she’s the only one who can kick him into focusing.

Isaac and Allison bond over watching romcoms and getting tattoos. Scott and Lydia join them sometimes, but mostly it’s just their thing. No one wants to cry uncontrollably in front of their soulmate, so Isaac and Allison do it with each other instead.

Erica’s the daredevil out of the whole group, the one who’s looking for new things to try. She’s the one who convinces him to try diving and wall-climbing. She’s the one who teaches him self-defense in the guise of asking him to help her practice.

Boyd is just the one who he chills with, the one who he can trade book recommendations with. They spend afternoons just hanging out in cafes, listening to the endless playlist of acoustic songs and answering Sudoku puzzles as they drink their lattes.

Kira is the person Isaac can go to when he’s feeling down. She’s always so nice and warm and just so comforting, She’s the one who wraps Isaac in a blanket and gives him hot chocolate, the one who always knows whether she should coax him into talking about his problems or just give him some company.

Malia’s the cool kid. She’s the one who Isaac can spend hours just lounging around with on a park bench, drinking soda and eating French fries from McDonald’s but also still looking cool as hell.

So yes, Isaac has Scott. He has all these friends and all their parents who dote on him. He’s passing his classes and he feels like he hasn’t seen his father in a very long time.

He’s happy.

 

 

High school doesn’t last forever though.

Scott gets a lacrosse scholarship while Isaac gets funded by the Whittemores for some reason. No one knows why and even when Lydia asked Jackson, their son, he just says that he doesn’t have any idea why his parents do what they do.

They all just learn to accept it, and so that September, Scott and Isaac pack up their bags and go to university.

 

 

Isaac and Scott adjust quickly to university. In a month, they’ve worked out a schedule of sorts. Weekdays are for classes of course, and being the enthusiastic freshmen that they are, they spend their nights actually studying. Sometimes, on Friday nights, they go out and have a drink with some friends.

The weekends are less predictable. Sometimes, they have breakfast in a diner a block away from their apartment because the waffles are phenomenal. Sometimes, they stay in and Scott cooks them good old-fashioned bacon and eggs. Sometimes, they spend the whole day on their bed, binge-watching shows on Netflix or catching up on their Youtube subscriptions. Sometimes, they drive home to visit Melissa.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that they’ve found a flow again, a way to fit themselves into this new place and this new situation.

 

 

Things change halfway into their second semester. They’ve just finished their midterms and even though they now have a ton of requirements to do for finals, they’re still going out to celebrate getting through this one hurdle in their life as university students.

“You’re not wearing that, Scott,” Isaac says, not even pausing in his own preparing. “Danny will never let it down.”

“But it’s nice,” Scott says, fiddling with the hem of the sweater as he looks at himself in the mirror. “And Stiles bought it for me.”

“That’s great,” Isaac says slowly, “but it’s also neon green and has a giant poop emoji on the front. It’s a gag gift, Scott.”

Scott sighs. “I know that, but it’s _so_ soft and fluffy.”

Isaac walks across the room and places his hands on either side of Scott’s hips. “If you really want to wear it then I can’t stop you,” he says, an affectionate smile on his face. “You’ll look amazing either way.”

Scott leans in for a quick kiss, and when he pulls back, he’s also smiling. “Thanks, but I’m just gonna wear a shirt. I can save this for brunch tomorrow.”

Scott takes the sweater off and Isaac goes to fetch him a shirt to change into. When he hands it to Scott, his hands linger on Scott’s right forearm, on the timer that’s been at _00:00:00_ for almost five years now.

Except it’s now at _00:04:16._

“Scott,” Isaac says, a bit breathless. “Scott, your timer.”

Isaac doesn’t hear Scott’s reply, doesn’t move, doesn’t want to look at his own timer to see if his has started again as well. But Scott takes his wrist and takes a look for him.

“We have another soulmate,” Scott says, sounding excited. Meanwhile, Isaac can’t sift through his own mix of anticipation, anxiety, worry, and curiosity.

“I hope they’re not some drunk asshole,” he says finally.

Scott wrinkles his nose. “Yeah.”

 

 

It’s not the easiest thing to go looking for one specific person in a house full of people, but Scott and Isaac manage.

They find their soulmate nursing a bottle of beer in the kitchen, glaring at everyone and everything. His name is Derek Hale and he’s three years their senior. Also, the only reason he’s at the party is so he can look out for his sister who’s a first year just like they are.

He also looks kind of grumpy, which neither Scott nor Isaac is used to, but they can work with it. Scott’s relentlessly bubbly persona and Isaac’s determined optimism are enough for the three of them.

They decide immediately that they like him, of course, and decide to ask him out instead of staying at the party. Scott makes sure to ask Danny to look after Cora, Derek’s sister, just in case.

“You could be serial killers for all I know,” Derek says as he follows them out of Danny’s front door.

“We’re not,” Scott protests.

“He’s not,” Isaac says, his mouth twisting into a teasing smile. “We can just go to a café and talk, if you want.”

Derek huffs. “Fine.”

Isaac isn’t sure if he’s just blinded by the fact that Derek is his soulmate, but the gruffness is kind of endearing. Isaac looks at Scott to see what he thinks and sees him with a wide smile on his face as he sneaks glances at Derek.

Isaac’s hand tightens around Scott’s. It’s the same smile Scott had that day they first met.

 

 

They spend three hours in the café, probably more if it didn’t close at eleven o’clock.

“We’ll text you,” Scott says. They’re standing outside, with Scott and Isaac holding hands and Derek standing a bit awkwardly to the side.

Isaac shifts his weight from one foot to another, his mind running fast. He gives Scott’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“We’re going to watch the new Insidious movie,” Isaac says, just as Derek seems like he’s about to say something. “Wanna come watch it with us?”

Derek closes his mouth for a moment, tilts his head in mild confusion. “Is it out on blu-ray?”

Isaac snorts. “Torrent, of course.”

Derek’s mouth twists upward in an amused smile.

“Alright. I’ll go.”

 

 

The movie has a lot more jumpscares than they expected.

Scott tries not to look away from the movie so instead he holds Isaac’s forearm tighter than he probably should. Isaac lets him though, mostly because he’s used to it.

Derek doesn’t seem to mind. He mostly sits still and stares at the laptop screen.

Isaac, while not visibly ruffled when they’re watching the movie, is the sort of person who’d get scared afterwards. He’d convince Scott to sleep with the lights on, or he’d touch Scott more, hold his hand a bit more for the next few days.

Scott’s learned by now that it’s best to hold Isaac through the night, and, well, there’s no better time for Derek to learn it as well.

“Why do I still watch horror movies,” Isaac mutters. The credits are finally rolling and both he and Scott heave sighs of relief. He turns to Derek and tries to smile. “Hey, thanks for staying.”

Derek shrugs. “It was nice.”

“It’s late,” Scott says. It’s already two o’clock in the morning. “You should stay over. We can call your sister.”

Derek freezes for a moment, clearly thinking about it. Then, “Don’t worry. She’s probably passed out by now anyway. I’ll just text her.”

 Scott’s smile widens, turns once again into that blinding, happy smile.

“Great.”

 

 

They fit in Scott and Isaac’s admittedly luxurious Queen bed. It’s still a bit of a squeeze with Isaac’s too-long legs and with Scott’s and Derek’s wide frames but no one seems to mind.

“Do you need sleeping pills?” Scott asks Isaac when they’ve finally figured out comfortable positions.

Isaac burrows his head further into Scott’s chest. “No.”

Scott hums in reply, presses a soft kiss onto Isaac’s hair.

Derek lays an arm across Isaac and around Scott’s hip, grunts, presses himself closer to Isaac. “We’re here for you,” he says.

Scott smiles. Derek’s a fast learner.

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on [tumblr](http://connerkent.tk/)!


End file.
